Vestas sinks after Trump victory

Bloomberg

Shares in Vestas Wind Systems A/S plunged after US voters unexpectedly propelled Republican nominee Donald Trump to the presidency, sparking concern that the renewable- energy industry will face future political headwinds. The world’s biggest maker of wind turbines fell as much as 14 percent and traded 6.6 percent lower at 440.10 kroner as of 12:50 p.m. in Copenhagen. Stock of the Danish company already lost ground last week after US polls tightened, bringing this year’s declines to about 10 percent. “The US is not the only market in the world, but it’s important for us,” said Chairman Bert Nordberg by phone. “It doesn’t have with us to do that the stock is jumping up and down — we have reported growth and profit.”
Trump has been vocal about his climate skeptic views, tweeting that he believes that global warming is a hoax created by China. He also tried to get an offshore wind project canceled near a golf course he owns in Scotland, losing a two-year legal battle in July.
Nordberg expects the incentive for wind power known as the production tax credit, or PTC, to stay in place for the next five years. The renewable energy may also play into the politician’s protectionist agenda, as the electricity will be produced within the country’s borders, he said.
“I think Trump has a lot of other things to deal with right now rather than wind energy,” the chairman said. Analysts had already guided investors in Vestas to expect price shocks depending on the outcome of the Nov. 8 election. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates that about 41.3 percent of Vestas’s revenue last year came from the Americas. “The Vestas share reaction is a result of concerns that Trump will focus more on fossil fuels,” Otto Friedrichsen, equity strategist at Formuepleje, said by phone after the result was clear. “Now there’s concern how Vestas will perform in the US under a president who’ll be more interested in looking out for the country’s coal industry.”